Three S.Asian siblings unite after 48 years of separation

ABU DHABI: Three Asian siblings united with each other in Abu Dhabi after 48 years of separation.

According to a foreign news agency, 75-year old T.P. Mammukutty and his 85-year old sister Eyyathu reached the UAE capital from India whereas their 74-year old brother Hamsa Sarkar arrived here from Pakistan.

The fourth child of T.P. Marakkar and Ummathu, Hamsa had gone missing from his home in 1951.

“He was a third standard student. Hamsa was fond of travelling. One day he went out to feed cattle and never returned,” Mammukutty said.

Hamsa said, “I went with a team of Pakistani visitors who came to meet a famous physician in my village. I took a train from Shornur railway station and reached Kolkata. From there I reached Bangladesh and from there headed to Karachi.”

“I am very happy to meet my elder brother and sister after all these years. I am old and sick and I never thought I would meet them. It was my daughter, Aeesha, a school teacher, who took the family reunion initiative,” he added.

Eyyathu said, “By the time his parents came to know that their son was missing, Hamsa had already boarded the train from Kolkata. He had no money and was pushed through the borders.”

She added, “Nadirshah, 42, who works in Abu Dhabi happened to show Hamsa’s picture to one of his Pakistani customer. This customer mentioned that the person in the picture looks exactly like a cook in a restaurant in Karachi, where he used to take food.”

Sarkar said that when he told his customer that he was trying to trace the elder brother of my father, he took interest and located the person in the picture for him. “As fate would have it, it turned out to be my uncle,” he added.